Spain performs pioneering face transplant from donor who requested assisted dying

A hospital in Barcelona said on Feb 2 it had performed a pioneering facial transplant in which the donor, in a world first, had offered her face for donation before undergoing an assisted dying procedure.

The complex surgery involved transplanting composite tissue from the central part of the face and required the participation of around 100 professionals, including psychiatrists and immunologists, the prestigious Vall d'Hebron hospital said in a statement.

The hospital's transplant coordinator, Elisabeth Navas, said the donor had showed "a level of maturity that leaves one speechless".

"Someone who has decided to end their life dedicates one of their last wishes to a stranger and gives them a second chance of this magnitude," Dr Navas said.

The recipient - identified only by her first name Carme - had suffered facial tissue necrosis from a bacterial infection caused by an insect bite, affecting her ability to speak, eat and see.

"When I'm looking in the mirror at home, I'm thinking that I'm starting to look more like myself," Ms Carme told a press conference on Feb 2, adding her recovery was going very well.

For such cases requiring facial transplants, donor and recipient must share the same sex, blood group and have a similar head size.